NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference, after a meeting of NATO defense ministers in video format, at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021.
And training activities will now include more Iraqi security institutions, and areas beyond Baghdad,” Stoltenberg told reporters after chairing a meeting of NATO defense ministers.
NATO’s training mission was launched in 2018 to help the conflict-ravaged country develop new academies and military schools for its armed forces.
Ad“We will increase the geographical presence of the NATO training mission, beyond the greater Baghdad area, but again, step by step,” Stoltenberg said.
After the invasion, the temporary U.S.-led administration disbanded the Iraqi army, leaving tens of thousands of trained personnel jobless and bitter.